Electronic Medical Records implemented in Grenada

ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, May 10, 2017 – GIS: Grenada’s health care system, on May 9, embarked upon a more reliable, readily accessible and accountable approach to medical records management.
It’s called Electronic Medical Records or EMR.

Hon. Nickolas Steele, Minister for Health and Social Security says the system is implemented to cut back on costs, improve the workflow of health care providers and enhance the overall quality of care in the medical practice on island.

“The most significant part of the Electronic Medical Records is, as we say, ‘one patient – one record’, and that record follows the patient around wherever they choose to access the system.
So, individuals can go to the north at Princess Alice and take an X-ray, get on a bus, come to the general hospital or a doctor in St. George’s and be able to access their records there.

They would not have to replicate or re-do tests etc. So, there’s considerable savings in that immediately, ”Minister Steele said.

Among other benefits, the minister said the system will have a direct link to pharmacies, and patients who need to travel will have access to information that will give practitioners abroad a comprehensive understanding of their medical history and current state of health.

“The records of a patient are accessible to the patients, if they want to give to a foreign doctor.

You can travel to the US and you can give the doctor that you see your records. It will not have the local doctor’s notes, but it will have the results of all the tests that you have done.
It’s your discretion to give and not be at the mercy to have to come back to beg for those results here in Grenada , or have to retake those tests wherever you are, if you’re looking for a second opinion,” the health minister said.

Minister Steele says the EMR, along with other advances in the sector, such as Phase 2 of the General Hospital, the commissioning of the newly refurbished gynecological ward and the soon-to-be rolled out National Health Insurance are all indications that Grenada’s health care sector is headed in the right direction.